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Epilogue

Another one.

This time it was during summer, floating in the middle of a lake with the sun beating down on them and Kurt's lips pressed up gently against his, kissing each other like it was the only thing that mattered and -

This had to stop.

Blaine accidentally squeezed too much gel out onto his hand and glared at the bottle for a few minutes before realizing that it wasn't the fault of his hair gel that he was having romantic dreams about his best friend. It was his own but try as he might, Blaine couldn't do a thing about it.

It wasn't as bad as it could be, he knew. After hearing some of the dreams David had been having about his girlfriend last year, it could definitely be worse. He wasn't imagining Kurt naked or wanting to do wanton things to him - instead, all he wanted to do was kiss him. Many times in many different ways.

Which didn't make sense because he didn't like Kurt.

Oh, of course he liked Kurt as his friend, cared about him a lot as a friend but that was where Blaine drew the line. After everything that had happened over the past month, the other people Blaine had been interested in or thought he was interested in, Kurt had never been one of them so no, Blaine wasn't harboring some secret crush on his friend. At least if he was, it was so secret that even he didn't know about it and yeah, his feelings had been mixed up lately but surely he wasn't that oblivious?

The main problem in Blaine's mind was that he actually liked the dreams. He knew he shouldn't - Kurt was his best friend after all - but for someone who had only ever kissed a few people and hadn't properly kissed someone in quite some time (Rachel was definitely not included in that factor), it was easy to slip into fantasies, memories about how it felt to kiss and be kissed. And if his dreams were providing him with a means to do that, then why look a gift horse in the mouth?

(Because it's Kurt, his brain reminded him.)

Blaine didn't even know if Kurt was a good kisser but his dream self certainly was. He couldn't count the number of dreams he'd had but in almost every one their first kiss was a moment of sheer perfection under wonderful, exciting and sometimes incredibly strange circumstances. Like just the other night when Blaine had dreamt about Kurt coming and asking what boys lips tasted like and naturally they had experimented and Blaine had learnt that dream-Kurt's lips tasted exquisite. Or the one where Blaine had suddenly realized how he wanted to get the same attention Kurt gave to the girls except, you know, in a different way and they had ended up kissing outside the Lima Bean, a location where many of their kisses had taken place.

But they hadn't all been pleasant. A few mornings back Blaine had woken up in tears, honest to god crying because he and Kurt had just said goodbye because he was leaving for the military for four years. Even though it was ridiculous - Blaine was a complete pacifist and war just sounded awful - it was still enough to shake him to the core and make him hug Kurt just a little tighter that morning. Even if they weren't together, it was a horrible thought to not see Kurt for that long. And the night after Blaine had compared Kurt to Karofsky, the dream had been enough to get him running to Kurt the next morning and offering up a breathless apology for his awful choice of words - not for sticking up for himself, Blaine still stood by that, but for comparing Kurt to someone who had treated him so badly.

Maybe the dreams had helped, just a little.

But some were just plain confusing, especially when Blaine had experienced time travel and changed the future so he and Kurt could end up together which erred just a little on the wrong side of manipulative for his liking but was actually quite fun to experience. Though he had woken up wondering whether the timeline had changed before laughing at himself and going on with his day (after checking the date of course).

And the rest were just… well, nice. Curled up in an alcove with snow falling outside in the middle of a mega game of Sardines, at Kurt's father's wedding, after Kurt had fallen and ended up with scratches all over his face and Blaine had kissed them better, a conspiracy set up by the baristas at the Lima Bean to get them together, baking in the Dalton kitchen, snow, trees, rain… the list went on.

Somehow Blaine was managing to keep the dreams separate from his waking life but he also worried it wouldn't last for long.

Blaine always kept an eye out for Kurt every morning so he could greet him, something he had done ever since Kurt had started at Dalton. When his friend didn't arrive by first period, Blaine figured he was just running late, stuck in traffic like he had been a few times or simply spending longer than usual on his hair. It wasn't something to worry about - Blaine knew he would see Kurt in second period for Warbler practice.

First period was over before Blaine knew it, mostly because someone had mentioned sai swords near the start of the lesson and Blaine had remembered one of the many dreams he knew he had forgotten involving Kurt and some serious skills with sai swords - a reminisce that had taken up nearly all of the period. Resolving to find out if there was any truth to that, Blaine headed over to the choir room where the other Warblers were slowly arriving. Kurt's Literature class was right next door and when Blaine realized he wasn't in the room, he figured it was time to start worrying.

Hey, just checking to see where you are and if everything's okay. Text me back if you need notes or something's wrong, okay? - Blaine

Blaine shoved his phone back in his pocket just as Wes arrived to call the meeting to order. With Regionals so close there was no way he was going to risk angering the boy by doing anything that wasn't 'productive to helping the Warblers to Nationals for the first time in four years.'

That said, wearing the same uniform probably wasn't, and Blaine was mid-argument - how uptight did one have to be to worry about piping? - when the doors burst open and Kurt strode in.

It took less than a second for Blaine to realize that something was horridly, terribly wrong and his heart clenched as his first thought was Kurt's dad but no, Kurt wouldn't be here if that had happened and black was actually Kurt's colour and not the time Blaine.

When Kurt explained it was Pavarotti, Blaine could only feel the slightest bit of relief because as much as the Warblers would try to hide it, they all loved Pav. Blaine had spent his time with the bird when he had first arrived and as Kurt continued talking about his love for music and optimism, Blaine had to agree. As stupid as it sounded talking about a bird like that, it was all true.

So when Kurt wanted to sing, nobody was going to argue.

Blaine was too caught up in himself and his own sadness - not quite as grieving as Kurt but he still took a moment to remember the bird as he joined in the harmony without even thinking - to really take note until the end of the chorus. But when he finally glanced up, caught by the motion of Kurt moving across the room, caught in the sunlight -

Oh.

And everything was oh.

They had always said the best of revelations felt like being hit by a baseball bat, well someone must have just knocked Blaine over the head with a Beaters bat because everything had just changed.

No, of course it hadn't.

It had always been this way.

No longer could Blaine look at Kurt without seeing everything he had ever wanted. No longer would he be able to think of Kurt as just his 'really good friend', Kurt was someone he cared about more, someone he cherished, desired, wanted. Someone he had thought this way about for longer than just today but they were thoughts that he had locked away without even being aware of doing so. But that didn't even matter because he knew now what he truly wanted (needed, even) and that was Kurt.

But not today, of course. Today Kurt needed him and Blaine came to his sense enough to discretely lead Kurt out of the room after his song while Wes coughed loudly and resumed business. Outside in the corridor it only took a second for Kurt to finally let out the last of the tears he had been holding back, sitting on the floor with his back to the wall and Blaine's arm around his shoulders, Blaine waiting.

Blaine would wait. Kurt had waited this long for him after all.

Being a rockstar had always been Blaine's dream and, as such, had appeared in his actual dreams as well. But never had it been quite like that, where the music had taken a secondary, a backseat to what was important. Until now, nothing had been more important in Blaine's life than getting out of this town, making a name of himself and doing the thing he loved forever. Kurt, it seemed, changed many things.

And now Blaine knew what to do about Kurt.

He had planned to go into the meeting with the utmost of tact, prepared to follow all of the rules about raising a point of order and fully explaining his reasoning - maybe not that fully, the Council didn't need to know how he had fallen quite madly for Kurt at some point and singing a duet (Candles, by Hey Monday, thank you very much for that one rockstar self) with him would hopefully make some dreams come true, quite literally. But as the conversation had followed its usual path and Kurt had looked more and more resigned to that fact, Blaine had snapped.

Of course it hadn't been a dramatic snap but the Warblers still acted like he had jumped on a chair and screamed out that show choir was a waste of time and the arts should lose all funding.

But he had gotten his point across and that was what mattered. The duet was approved, a grudging respect had been earned and Kurt looked like someone had kicked him in the best possible way.

Blaine winked at him, settled back in his chair and pondered the best way to bring it all up.

So, those dreams he had wanted to stop a mere few days ago?

Lifesavers.

Blaine had woken up with tears on his cheeks and an impossibly content smile on his face, arms tightening before he realized Kurt wasn't there, they hadn't just been reunited after six weeks apart and they weren't married with a daughter (who Blaine was missing without having met, without the girl even existing). And wow, the fact that none of that was real actually hurt.

Blaine had the chance to set a foundation for that and he wanted it more than he had wanted a single damn thing in all of his life.

Forget elaborate planning, forget serenades and romantic dinners and putting in the weeks of effort to slowly woo Kurt that he had thought would be necessary. Blaine was going to go down there right now, find Kurt and tell him exactly how he felt.

Okay. Right now he was going to go to class. During free period he was going to find Kurt.

Class dragged on, as expected. Blaine spent the time running over all the possible things he could say to Kurt; all of the things his dream self had said that seemed to work suddenly sounded cheesy, too much, not enough, not right for the situation. And even though it was himself he was taking it from, Blaine kind of didn't want to use lines from someone else and suddenly time hit warp speed and there was the bell and oh, free period, time to find Kurt.

Oh.

Relax, he told himself as he began to wander through the common rooms of Dalton, searching. It's fine. You'll be fine. Just say what's on your heart.

And there was Kurt and every logical word Blaine had thought of dried up and what was he doing telling Kurt not to focus on the coffin and emotional, really? That was all he could say?

Blaine took a deep breath and focused before giving up again, just letting the words run because as broken and plain and unromantic as they probably were, they were the truth and anything else would sound rehearsed and wrong. All he could do was give himself to Kurt - his unsure, unromantic self - and hope it was enough.

He couldn't even focus on his words, anxiously watching Kurt for a reaction and - oh.

Kurt had just lit up. He was stunned, Blaine could tell, but the sheer hope in his eyes was so much, almost too much but not even close and Blaine had finally given him that instead of taking it away and now -

And now?

Blaine was out of words and Kurt didn't look like he was finding his own any time soon and oh hell now what?

Do you not realize those dreams were there for a reason?

Blaine leaned in and kissed Kurt.

The dreams had been amazing. They had offered hundreds of possibilities, fantasies, ways that Blaine could have had a first kiss with Kurt to remember. Nearly every possibility had been covered and 'Blaine' had kissed or been kissed by 'Kurt' more times than he could remember.

He deepened the kiss; waiting, hoping.

They had left Blaine with a standard he wasn't sure he could live up to. So many times his dream self had seemed so much more confident and assured and in control than he was himself - granted, sometimes it was Kurt who was taking control and helping him out but even then Blaine felt like 'Blaine' knew what to do much better than he did. And naturally in the time he had spent waiting, leading up to this moment, he had been sure he would blow it, would never be able to give Kurt the truly romantic moment that he deserved, the moment that dream Kurt had experienced hundreds of times over and real Kurt (the Kurt he was kissing) had never had once.

And Kurt began to kiss him back, hand moving to cup his face; giving everything over.

The dreams were amazing and something that Blaine could remember for as long as he wanted, maybe even something he could share with Kurt one day. But they were just dreams and nothing in them had ever happened. Nothing had been as real as this and nothing had been as amazing as this.

Nothing in the world could ever compare to the first time Blaine Anderson kissed Kurt Hummel.

This series has been a pleasure to write but nothing will ever compare to the first real kiss between these two amazing characters.

And the final MusicalEscape interp:

*happy sigh* "Blaine, I hope we get to grow old together. To spend our lives together. To get our happily ever after..."

"Yeah, like in Disney movies!"

"Hun, you're ruining the moment."

"Will it help if I told one of the little people that once inhabited my hair to go get you a smoooothie?"

"I swear to all that is holy, I will take your Harry Potter books and tear them up and bury them where the sun don't shine-"

And they lived happily ever after, in NYC, with a puppy and 12 children, and little people from Blaine's hair serving them. And cake. Lots of cake. Because every happy ending needs cake.

Final A/N: Always remember what Glee is all about - opening yourself up to joy. To experiencing everything you can from life, to making those moments where your heart sings and the ones where it is simply and utterly content. To love and be loved and love love. To find things that make you so happy you could burst and absorbing them into your life completely, even if people can never understand why.

Writing this series has given me that joy and I hope you have experienced a little bit of it yourself from reading it.